Lesson 25

      Let us go back to the Bible.  As God tells us in 1 Peter 4:11, "If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God."  In other words, we are to speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent.  We must call Bible things by Bible names and do Bible things in Bible ways.  We will not be wrong in doing this.  To do this we must get rid of all the manuals, creeds, disciplines, and confessions men have written and follow only what we can read in the Bible, because the Bible is our only guidebook to Heaven.  The doctrines of men will keep us out of Heaven.

     We must dust our Bibles off and start studying them for ourselves.  We must stop taking someone else’s word for what it says and find out for ourselves what God is trying to tell us; if we will only listen to God. This is very important, for God says in Hosea 4:6, "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge: because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you."  It is a very serious matter to be rejected of God because we did not care enough about what God is saying to us in His Word to read and study it for ourselves so we can obey it.  When we don't know God's will, false doctrines will arise.  Instead, people have taken someone else's word for it.  This is the reason there are so many different kinds of false denominational churches today.  The commandments of men have the power to turn people away from the truth of God's word (Titus 1:14).  

     It is not good enough to be religious, but we must be right religiously.  Everything we do must be according to God's word in the Bible.  We will not make it to Heaven by following guidebooks which men have written.  Please don't think less of me for trying to point you to what the scriptures say concerning our salvation.  As the apostle Paul says in Galatians 4:16, "Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?"  I am only wishing the best for you.  I want you to go to Heaven.

     In closing, we ask the question again.  Are You Really Sure Of Your Eternal Salvation?  As you think of death and eternity, how can you not obey the gospel?  If you have seen from the scriptures that have been pointed out in this course or from your further study of the Bible that you have not done all the will of God and only the will of God, so that you can be saved and go to Heaven, then please make those changes now so that your salvation can be assured.  We are told in Amos 4:12, "Prepare to meet your God."  On the Day of Judgment we will be either prepared or unprepared.  Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.  What are your plans for eternity?  Are you going to be spending eternity in Heaven or in Hell?  Are you really concerned about the salvation of your soul?  The choice is yours.  Remember that only a few will go to Heaven but the majority will go to Hell because they chose to go there.  Are you going to be among the few or the many?  This great responsibility rests upon each of us.  We will not accidentally go to Heaven.

     If you are not prepared to go to Heaven, then make things "right" now.  Don’t put it off.  Satan wants you to put it off.  Satan works on all of us all of the time.  He does not want us to change for the better.  He wants our company in Hell.  He will do anything and everything to get us there.  One of Satan's greatest triumphs and falsehoods is that men can be saved before and without obeying Christ in baptism.  Since baptism is the line of demarcation between sin and salvation (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, 22:16, 1 Peter 3:21), Satan has arranged a subterfuge of counterfeits to hide the truth of what God requires for one to be saved.  Satan has people believing that baptism is not necessary for one to be saved, but only necessary to join their denomination.  He also has people believing that sprinkling and pouring is baptism.  He has fooled people to “baptize” their infant children.  All these baptisms are useless counterfeits.  All they will do is to cause one to loose his soul eternally in Hell.  Jesus says, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul" (Mark 8:36).  We cannot afford to lose our soul in Hell.

     Do not allow anyone to explain away what you can read in the Bible that God wants you to do.  We must take God seriously, because God is serious in what He is telling us in His word.  Ecclesiastes 12:13 (KJV) sums up everything quite well when it says: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man."

     I have tried to be open and honest with you.  If you have any questions concerning the things discussed in this course or any other Bible questions please let me know by E-mail using the address below.  I would also like your input as to what you think of this course.

     If you were to die today, do you know for sure, without a doubt, that you would go to Heaven?  We do not know the day nor the hour of our death.  It can come unexpectedly and without warning.  It can come before we are ready.  Are you ready for that day to come.  Remember the majority of people will not go to Heaven, only a few will (Matthew 7:13-14). 

     Do you believe in God and Christ?  I am sure you do.  Are you willing to repent of your sins and confess that you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?  Jesus says in Mark 16:16, "He that believes and is baptized will be saved."  Tragically many refuse to hear the voice of Jesus.  Will you be baptized (immersed) for the remission of your sins so you can be saved?  Then the Lord will add you to His church, the church of Christ, where we can worship Him faithfully until death when we will receive the crown of life in Heaven.  Jesus says, "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life" (Revelation 2:10).

     If you would like to locate true Christians who follow only what God says in the Bible and who will help you in your being baptized for the forgiveness of your sins so you can be saved, then locate a congregation of the church of Christ in your community.  Or you can E-mail me at ron@netbiblestudy.net with your city, state, and ZipCode and I will help you locate a congregation of the church of Christ near you.

     Please answer the following questions as they applied to you at the time you were saved and not as you now understand what you need to do to be saved.

1)  Have you ever been saved?

2)  Did you go forward in church at the time you were saved?

3)  Did you accept Christ as your personal saviour in order to be saved?

4)  Were you saved and your sins forgiven at the time you accepted Christ as your personal saviour?

5)  Have you been baptized?

6)  At what age were you baptized?
     

7)  How were you baptized? 

8)  How long after you accepted Christ as your personal saviour were you baptized? 
    

9)  Were you saved and your sins forgiven before or after you were baptized?  

10) Did your baptism put you into Christ where all spiritual blessings are such as: salvation, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life?

11) Do you wear only the name Christian?

12) Are you really sure of your eternal salvation?

 

13) If you were to die today do you know for sure without a doubt that you would go to Heaven?  

 

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     We want to plead with you to renounce any and all denominational affiliations and humbly submit to Christ as your Lord, by repenting of every sin and being baptized for the forgiveness of your sins so that you can be saved and go to Heaven.  Then you will need to worship God "in spirit and in truth" regularly in His church, the church of Christ.

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     Another Bible course you might be interested in taking is entitled: